![\"Beyond](\"https:\/\/lamesacourier.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Wings-Empire-wings1.jpg\")
<\/a>Wings Empire was guilty of only the latter charge, though with a disclaimer regarding the first offense since I had requested the wings extra-crispy \u2014 and received them as such.<\/p>\n
This small countywide chain has a feather in La Mesa and grabbed my attention with its bold signage when driving along east El Cajon Boulevard. Located close to the street in Mesa Plaza, the atmosphere resembles a tavern, sans an actual bar.<\/p>\n
Bottled beer is on display at the order counter in refrigerated coolers. Beer banners frame a sizable outdoor patio. And \u201980s rock music played loudly over a decent speaker system on two different midday visits.<\/p>\n
Service lacked each time as the same employee left me and others waiting impatiently at an empty front counter for nearly 10 minutes before emerging from the back. While taking orders, she was glued to her cell phone and would frequently disappear again.<\/p>\n
When I inquired about the ownership, she aloofly replied, \u201cI think it\u2019s owned by a bunch of people that know each other, but I\u2019m not sure.\u201d<\/p>\n
I received slightly better answers when calling the Pacific Beach and El Cajon locations. Apparently \u201csome\u201d of the seven outlets are franchised, while the others are operated by the original owner from the Chula Vista location. \u201cHe\u201d wasn\u2019t available when I called, yet according to most employees I spoke with, the eatery was founded about four or five years ago.<\/p>\n
Mysteries aside, everything I ate at Wings Empire was very good. New to the lengthy lineup of sauce choices is sweet chili, a clingy and somewhat spicy recipe made supposedly in-house. I tried it on an order of wings and also asked for some on the side to jazz up one of the best pulled pork sandwiches I\u2019ve had all year.<\/p>\n Nary a shred of gristle existed in the pile of incredibly tender house-roasted pork, which was topped with fresh coleslaw and tucked inside a wide sesame seed bun (the same roll used for the tasty half-pound Angus burgers). I especially liked the absence of barbecue sauce in the meat, which had no particular seasoning \u2014 just pure pork flavor elevated by my sparse applications of the sweet chili sauce.<\/p>\n Thick barbecue sauce, however, is slathered onto the ribs \u2014 an unlikely offering in a place that appears on the surface to be all about chicken wings. Based on their sight and smell, and the rapturous groans from a near party chewing into them, I expect they\u2019ll go down with hyper speed when I return to order them.<\/p>\n \u201cBuffalo chicken stixs\u201d is a curious item that grabbed me. Similar to flatbread, it features battered, fried pieces of chicken breast tossed in your choice of sauce, and then lopped onto an elongated house-made bread roll. A mantle of melted mozzarella seals the deal. Priced at $7.99, it\u2019s a substantial dish that I almost loved had I not chosen the pungent lemon-pepper sauce.<\/p>\n For a five-count order of wings, the bright-orange Buffalo sauce I requested was considerably better. It seemed properly laced with butter \u2014 not just the watery cayenne stuff other places use. Though ideally, wings are shaken in the sauce for an even coating. These were given a liberal pour-over.<\/p>\n Other flavors include teriyaki, honey BBQ, mango-habanero and garlic-Parmesan. And for masochists, there are \u201cvery hot\u201d or \u201cEmpire hot\u201d versions of the Buffalo sauce.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a>